How To Repair A Hole In A Wooden Door

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Hollow cadre doors are much cheaper and more than common than doors made of solid wood, but they are also a lot more than delicate and prone to harm. While holes in your doors or unsightly scratches might seem difficult to repair, yous can get them fixed up in no more than than a mean solar day or two. Simply patch up holes or make full in the scratches before refinishing the surface and your door will look expert as new in no fourth dimension!

1. 1

   Cutting away any loose or cleaved wood from effectually the hole or crack. Depending on how the door was damaged, in that location may exist some loose splinters or fragments around the edges of the hole or crack. Rather than trying to repair these, use a utility knife to cut away any damaged woods until you're left with a make clean hole free from rough edges.^[1]

   • Always cut away from yourself when working with a utility pocketknife, particularly when cutting through something sturdy similar woods.
   • You may demand to make the hole or crack bigger before you can brainstorm repairing information technology. Information technology's much easier to repair a larger hole free from damaged forest than it is to repair a smaller 1 that'due south fragmented or cleaved.

2. 2

   Pack the hole with paper towels. While the paper towels won't make the door stronger or repair it, they are an like shooting fish in a barrel and affordable fashion to hold the insulation cream in identify while it dries. Bunch upwards a few paper towels and stuff them around the bottom and sides of the hole or crack yous want to repair.^[ii]

   • Paper towels work as they are light plenty to concur their own weight within the door. If you don't have paper towels, apply some tissue paper or something similarly low-cal.

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3. 3

   Fill the hole with expanding foam insulation. Expanding insulation foam comes in a spray tin can with a long nozzle on the top. Indicate the nozzle into the hole or cleft in your door and begin spraying. The cream will expand to fill the infinite inside the door, with any excess expanding exterior the pigsty through the confront of the door.^[3]

   • Expanding insulation cream should be available online or from your local hardware store. For a smaller infinite, a low-expansion type may exist easier to handle.

4. 4

   Leave the insulation foam to dry overnight. Once the insulation foam has filled in the pigsty or scissure, information technology needs to dry all the way through before it can be cutting or sanded down. Leave the foam to sit for 4 to 5 hours or ideally overnight then that information technology tin dry completely.^[4]

   • Check the instructions on your ain brand of insulation foam for more guidance on how long it will take to dry.

5. five

   Trim away the excess foam with a utility knife. Position a utility pocketknife slightly above whatever protruding insulation foam and so that it is affluent with the face of the door. Run the pocketknife down the face of the door to cut away any backlog cream, trimming it until the foam sits no more than 0.ane inches (two.5 mm) below the face of the door.^[5]

6. 6

   Apply a layer of auto-body filler for a strong repair. Mix together 2 parts of an automobile-body filler and 1 part of a hardener catalyst and spread the mixture over the hole in your door. Utilise the edge of a putty pocketknife to smear and printing the mixture over the hole, filling in whatsoever gaps and making it roughly flush with the door.^[6]

   • Auto-body filler is a compound that will requite you a very potent door, only information technology can exist quite difficult to work with. It will normally come up packaged with a hardener goad designed specifically to actuate information technology. This production is available online or at your local hardware or auto shop.

7. 7

   Cover the pigsty with spackle for a quicker gear up. ^[seven] If you don't have auto-body filler, you tin use spackle instead. Use a putty knife to scoop out some spackle and spread it over the hole in your door. Work in long, smooth strokes to smear the spackle over the door as smoothly and evenly every bit possible.^[8]

   • Spackle is readily available, affordable, and very like shooting fish in a barrel to work with.
   • Spackle is available online or from your local hardware store.

8. eight

   Wait ane 60 minutes for the surface to dry. Whether you repaired the door with spackle or an motorcar-body filler chemical compound, it volition accept around i hr for your repair compound to dry out completely. Leave the door to dry until it is hard to the touch.^[9]

   • Cheque the instructions on your spackle or car-body filler chemical compound for more than information on how long it will take to dry.

9. 9

   Sand down the surface of the door. ^[x] Apply a sheet of coarse grit sandpaper, around 100- to 120-grit, to begin sanding downwards your repair compound. Sand off the spackle or auto-body filter until it is level with the surface of the door and it looks flat.^[11]

   • Sanding down the door will aid you smooth out the repair job to go far less visible. Withal, it will rough up the surface effectually the hole or crack. To fix this and make the door look completely undamaged, paint or stain the door.^[12]

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1. 1

   Use very fine grit sandpaper to remove loose splinters and paint. Use 320-grit sandpaper to sand downwardly whatever areas where the pigment is peeling and/or the wood is splintering. Clean up the scratched area so that you can patch it rather than piecing it back together.^[thirteen]

   • If the wood is significantly splintered, wear heavy gloves while sanding to avoid injuring yourself.

2. two

   Apply a generous glaze of wood filler to the scratched area. Squeeze or spread a small dollop of wood filler over each scratch on your door. Apply your finger or a putty knife to spread the filler around and press it into the scratches. Try to achieve a smooth stop that is even and level with the rest of the door.^[14]

   • Wood filler is available online or from your local hardware store. It volition either come premixed in a tube or in 2 separate parts that need to exist combined before using it. Follow the instructions on your wood filler for the best results.

3. iii

   Leave the filler to dry for xv to 20 minutes. The filler needs to set up and fully adhere to the wood in order for it to repair the door. Once y'all accept pressed filler into all of the scratches, leave information technology for 15 to 20 minutes to dry out fully, until it is completely solid to the touch.^[15]

   • Bank check the instructions on your forest filler for more than data on expected drying times.

4. 4

   Sand downward the woods filler with 320-grit sandpaper. Once the filler has dried, use very fine grit sandpaper to sand down previously scratched expanse. Work in shine, deliberate strokes to remove whatsoever excess wood filler and flatten the surface of the door.^[xvi]

   • Painting over the sanded area will make any irregular bumps more obvious. Run your manus over the surface area you patched with wood filler to catch whatever areas that need more sanding and smoothing.

5. 5

   Clean the area with a clammy paper towel or sponge. Sanding the wood and paint around the scratched expanse can produce a meaning amount of grit and droppings that tin can ruin the look of the repaired door. Dampen a clean cloth or a newspaper towel and lightly wipe down the expanse to clean up any dust left behind.

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1. i

   Sand down the expanse you repaired and wipe away the dust. To make sure the pigment or wood stain sticks evenly to the area you are painting or staining, utilize 220-grit sandpaper to sand down the repaired surface area. Use a vacuum cleaner or a clammy fabric to wipe away any dust or debris.^[17]

   • Dust will prevent the paint from sticking to the door properly, leaving an uneven surface. Clean away whatsoever dust before refinishing the door.

2. 2

   Remove any hardware or hinges from the door. Information technology's best to paint or stain the entire door to achieve an even stop, rather than only painting or staining the area y'all repaired. Employ a screwdriver to remove the hardware from the door. You might demand to remove the doorknob, hinges, or a strike plate almost the base of the door.^[18]

   • If y'all want to remove the door from its hinges entirely, printing a nail against the base of each hinge pivot and use a hammer to pop out the pins. This will let you refinish the door elsewhere and brand the job easier.
   • Check the screws in each plumbing fixtures or fixture to choose the right screwdriver to use. You lot should always remove and reattach fixtures to a hollow core door with a screwdriver, every bit an electric drill can hands harm the door.
   • Alternatively, you could employ painter's record to tape off areas you don't want to paint over.

3. 3

   Find pigment or wood stain that matches the color of your door. Choosing the right colour of pigment or woods stain volition make certain that the repaired door matches the rest of the doors in your home. Inquire an employee at your local hardware store for some pigment or woods stain samples or ask for aid in choosing the right paint to match the color of your door.^[nineteen]

   • While taking a moving-picture show of your door to assistance match the color might seem like a good idea, it won't always lead to a direct match. The lighting in your abode, the blazon of camera used, and the style the moving-picture show is printed or displayed will all change the color.
   • If you can, bring in a sample of the door to help friction match it — such every bit a piece of the door you cut abroad when first repairing it.

4. iv

   Employ an even glaze of pigment or wood stain to the entire door. Use a wide, all-purpose paintbrush or a paint roller to apply a single coat of paint or wood stain to the door. Paint or stain any grooves or panels start, so pigment long, even strokes over the rest of the door to avoid leaving visible lines.^[20]

   • If you're worried about making a mess, lay down a drop cloth or some old paper underneath the door before y'all begin painting.

5. 5

   Get out the door to dry for 3 to four hours. One time you've practical the offset coat, let the door to dry out for 3 to 4 hours. Even slight contact with the door can damage the finished wait, so make sure everyone who might come in contact with it knows that it is yet wet.^[21]

   • Check the instructions on your called paint or stain for more data on the expected time it takes for it to dry out.

6. 6

   Apply a second glaze of pigment or forest stain and permit it dry out. Each coat that you apply to the door will darken the color slightly and meliorate the expect overall. One time the first coat has dried, apply a second glaze to help obscure any imperfections visible from the first coat. Exit it to dry out fully until the door is no longer damp or tacky to the touch.^[22]

   • Many interior paints and stains volition accept several days to cure completely. Be careful with your repaired door for 1 week later on painting it to avert dissentious your coat of paint.
   • You can employ every bit many coats of paint or stain as you want, simply ii or 3 coats volition normally be plenty to make your door look fantastic.

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Add together New Question

• Question

  Should I gear up my door or supervene upon information technology?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional handyman and the founder of Little Red Truck Home Services based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a variety of carpentry projects. He is skilled at constructing decks, railings, fences, gates, and diverse pieces of article of furniture. Barry also holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy University.

  

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this practiced answer.

  Most hollow core doors are fairly inexpensive and esasy to replace. If the hole in your door is large, but go alee and supercede the door. Still, for a pocket-size hole, you lot may be able to patch information technology with spackle, and then sand and repaint it to friction match.

• Question

  Can you patch a hollow core door?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional handyman and the founder of Little Cherry-red Truck Home Services based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a variety of carpentry projects. He is skilled at constructing decks, railings, fences, gates, and various pieces of piece of furniture. Barry also holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy Academy.

  

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• If the hole in your door is adequately large, information technology may be more than effective to just supplant the entire door.^[23]

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Things You lot'll Demand

• Utility pocketknife
• Paper towels
• Expanding insulation foam
• Auto-torso filler or spackle
• Putty knife
• 120-grit sandpaper
• 320-grit sandpaper

• 320-grit sandpaper
• Wood filler
• Putty knife
• Damp cloth or newspaper towels

• 220-dust sandpaper
• Paint or wood stain
• Broad, all-purpose paintbrush or paint roller

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Article Summary Ten

To repair a damaged hollow core door, start past cut abroad whatsoever loose or cleaved forest effectually the damage using a utility knife. Then, pack the hole or cleft with paper towels, and fill up it in with expanding foam insulation. Side by side, permit the insulation dry completely before trimming away the excess with a knife. Finally, cover the area with spackle, and allow information technology dry out before sanding it downwards so information technology'southward flush with the rest of the door. To learn how to refinish a hollow core door, ringlet downwardly!

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